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Rumford Design

The History Of Fireplaces And Their Styles

Richard Billington

Fireplaces, whichever form they came in, have been in use in every culture for over 1 million years. The first fire pits dug by cavemen were either simply holes in the ground, or strategically placed within their caves to provide heat and a way to cook raw meat. Later, when huts were used for shelter and accommodation, it was understood that the smoke had to be evacuated, something possible with straw roofs, as the smoke could rise and escape through tiny holes, but Indian Tipis for example had to open up their tops in order to allow smoke to evacuate if they did not want to risk asphyxiation.

A few thousands of years later, with the arrival of two story buildings, fires needed a system to expel their smoke out of the room they were placed in. the invention of the chimney presented a solution to this problem by allowing smoke to rise naturally through a conduct that led to the roof.

In 1678, Prince Ruppert came up with the idea of raising the iron frame used for holding the burning fuel. This allowed more air to circulate through and around the fire, and meant that hot gases had longer to travel before being burnt, thus producing more heat. This was for the time quite an impressive discovery into the physics of fire.

The 1740s saw Benjamin Franklin produce an innovative and unique stove. Although based on Ruppert’s design, the stove had some more advanced features which allowed the hot gasses to travel around it, thus heating the air inside. A vent at the top of the stove allowed the heated air to escape into the room, thus innovating and providing convected as well as radiated heat.

In the later 1700s, the Count Rumford designed the first fireplace with a tall and shallow firebox which provided a much better extraction of smoke. Rumford’s design was one that was to be imitated many times, and is considered to be the foundation of modern fireplaces.

Rumsford’s design was used by many (and is still today) in the fireplace industry. It then flourished by allowing many different styles of fireplaces to appear over time.

Fireplace style dates:

1260-1600: Renaissance fireplaces include Elizabethan, Jacobean, Tudor and Gothic styles.

1550-1750: Baroque fireplace styles include Mannerist, English Baroque, Intalian Baroque, French Baroque, Flemish and Bollection.

1740-1780: Antique Rococo fireplaces are made up of the Louis XV, English Rococo, French Rococo and Italian Rococo styles.

1700-1820: Neo Classical fireplaces include Georgian, Dam, Palladian, English, Scottish and Irish styles.

1790-1820: Regency fireplace styles include English Regency, Louis XVI, Directoire, French Empire and George IV.

1820-20th century fireplaces include the Victoria, William IV, George V, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Bijou chic styles.

Richard Billington is a fireplace enthusiast, and writes for Westland London, a UK based company specialising in antique fireplaces. Westland London offer a wide range of antiques from various periods of history.

To view different styles of antique fireplaces, make sure you visit Westland London